A Brief History of the Wedding Invitation

One of the more important parts of a wedding ceremony through the centuries has been the witnessing of the event by friends and family.  In many cultures all that was needed to seal the wedding ‘deal’ was to have both parties agree to the matter.  Without people to witness the event, weddings could easily become a matter of hearsay.  How people have been invited to weddings has evolved a lot over time. 

In many ancient cultures, wedding invitations were not needed since the whole village was, by tradition, expected to attend. Some cultures practiced group weddings, sometimes at the summer solstice or other festival, with the whole community present. 

‘Bidding the banns’ was a form of engagement announcement in Britain and Europe that goes back to the 12th centuray.  For three consecutive Sundays before the wedding, names were put on signs in the church.  Since most people could not read, thse banns were also verbally announced.  As well as to invite people to the wedding, it was also done to ensure there was no other husband or wife who could claim one or the other of the couple. 

In those times, as well as today, anyone could stand and observe a wedding.  Proper etiquette states that since a church is a public place, anyone of the public can attend.  Wedding invitations inform people of the time and place of the wedding, and also allows only those invited to come to the reception. 

Later, when more people were able to read and when towns grew to a point where people no longer knew everyone in town, hand written wedding invitations were used to invite friends and families. 

In the late 19th and through most of the 20th century, beautifully engraved wedding invitations were the custom, and for some people were a major expense in the wedding budget. 

Today, while many brides choose to make their own wedding invitations with their home PC and some pretty paper, it is still common to purchase traditional looking wedding invitation packages which include RSVPs and thank you notes.